Saturday, December 29, 2012

Hi All! Hope you are enjoying some time with family over the holidays and that you are also geting soe scrapping in! ;) If you have been hopping along, you got here via the lovely & talented Kristin Tweedale. If you are just getting started be sure to head over to the Social {Media} Butterflies blog and start at the beginning! :) Here is the blog hop order for this month:

This month, we "Butterflies" have been working on layouts/projects that get us thinking about the new year. For my contribution, I decided to create a layout that documented some resolutions, goals, or things I want to work on in the coming 365 days.Sorry the pics are all rotated. Working on correcting now. I plan to add a pic taken on 01.01.13 to the little Polaroid frame. ;)

I cut the title out with my Cameo and placed the POW paper beneath the chevron pp for added dimension.

I decided to break into my recently acquired Scrapperin products (Felicitas Klink-you rock it girl!) and my Studio Calico starburst mask. Lots of stamping, misting and a bit of layering here and there. And of course I had to turn my Cameo on and cut into some of that gorgeous POW paper. Love the special effect it gives to this layout celebrating a new year of resolutions! My journaling was done in silver gel pen as I wanted my resloutions to show up subtly on the layout. Lots of stamped arrows. Lots of stamping in general (ha!)Anyhoo, what are your goals, dreams, and/or resolutions for this year? Have you written them down? Were you specific? **I've been told that the more specific you are, the more likely you are to achieve them. Or at least to come close!Thanks for stopping by today. Please be sure to head on over to Corinne's blogfor a looksee at what she is resolved to do in 2013! And leave her and the others a little love to welcome in 2013 while you are at it!xoxo Suz

Friday, December 28, 2012

Hi All! Stop on over to the October Afternoon blogtoday where I have a holiday layout up and several images from my "25 Days of December Merry" album. Hope your visit leaves you a bit inspired to scrap today!

BBL with some pics of our Christmas Colorado Trip and some more Dec Daily pages!!!

Friday, December 14, 2012

I was beyond excited when Kim, Creative Director for October Afternoon, contacted me and asked if I'd like to guest design for the month of December.

Would I? Umm..yes please!!!! I l-o-v-e crafting for the holidays! Pair that with all of October Afternoon's scrapbooking goodness and you have the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit!

If you are at all like me, you have been anticipating the arrival of the holiday season and have been bustling around shopping for gifts, trimming the tree, sipping some cocoa ... and hopefully, setting aside some time for holiday merry “crafting!"

In the past month, I have been busy channeling my inner holiday s{ELF} in my scrap studio. The bad news? My studio has officially been categorized as being in a disastrous state of creative chaos; Category 5. (My family will whole-heartedly concur with this categorization). The good news is, I will spare you the frightening photos of said space (eep!) and instead, show you the photos of the result of the perfectly imperfect creative storm. J

To start things off, I created this home decor mixed media owl canvas.(*For those of you who follow my blog or Social Media Butterflies-you already got a peak at this little fella). ;)

I have an affinity for owls, so it only seemed logical that I would craft up an owl for the h{owl}idays. (*Now the blog post title makes a bit more sense, yes?)

This little fella was created with lots of Make It Merry and a bit of Holiday Style. I used a few Silhouette die cut designs to create him. I began with hand cutting a basic owl form from my favorite wood grain card stock and some pretty patterned paper for his beak, face, and wing. Then I cut two leaf Silhouette dies, and trimmed off the stems for his "eyebrows." For his eyes, I used the adorable rub-on OA red snowflakes to mimic pupils and irises. I layered a die cut snowflake with a doily, patterned paper and that adorable holly Tin Pin. A bit of machine and hand stitching was added for dimension. And for his tail feathers, I created a chevron pattern with my Silhouette Cameo, duplicated it three times, and then grouped them together and cut. And here he sits, at his perch, on the wall of my scrap studio.

Moving on to a traditional layout. First, I spray misted the background cardstock with a few whites to mimic snow falling. Then, I opened up my Silhouette library and found this design of nested circles. Little bits from the Very Merry December Mini Book Kit were added into the circles. Silver Zing embossing powder was applied to the chipboard bell and number. And a touch of Stickles (glitter glue) was added to the snowflakes and gift in Santa's bag. Love adding little extra touches like that. And lastly, a little hand embroidery in metallic silver thread finishes off this layout about my boys and their contagious holiday spirit!

Next up? Several gift wrap items. Many of which took only a few extra minutes to make but added a nice little handmade touch.

When I saw this little metal woodgrain gift box on Amazon, I knew I wanted to alter it. Here is what it looked like before alteration and most of the supplies/tools I used:I simply cut a small piece of patterned paper to cover up the Amazon logo,(because I want it to be a bit of a surprise where the gift is from) adhered it to the gift box, and embellished. Quick, easy, and oh so merry!

I recycled and altered this fun wood grain gift bag as well. (Evidently, not only do I have an affinity for owls, but wood grain items too!)

Below is a fun and functional gift. A festive holiday-patterned chevron beverage container, chock full of some Dove Peppermint Bark Promises. Included in this design from the Make It Merry line is the flag, candy cane die cut, bow sticker, green ribbon and "Make It Figgy Pudding" patterned paper from the 8x8 paper pack. I definitely will be making a few more of these!

Entering upon the aforementioned Category 5 Creative Chaos, my dear hubby asked if I would create some cards/envelopes for his reps/colleagues gifts. I got straight to work (as all good lil’ elves do) and opened up my Silhouette library to a gift card die, customized it with the "joy" text, grouped the design together, and cut.

I stamped the "Seasons Greetings" sentiment and adorably cute Santa (from the exclusive stamp set in the Very Merry December Mini-Book Kit) on some Project Life grid cards, and added Make It Merry washi tape to the bottoms of each card as well as to the back of each envelope.

Since my youngest son is completely engrossed with origami, my brain has been positively saturated with inspiration to draw from! This ornament was a result of that inspiration. I watched a You Tube Video of how this star pattern is created and set to work. Then I added a doily, baker's twine, and Tin Pin from the mini-book kit, a bit of Stickles/glitter glue to some of the snowflakes and called it done! I’m definitely planning on making more of these and getting my boys involved! These would also make for a lovely bow atop a gift.

Next up? A quick card that was made using the Make It Merry banners to form the mosaic star. A bit whimsical, yes?

And lastly, a mini album of December Instagrams that I will be completing throughout the holiday season. At the heart of this mini is the sheet of the "Make a Countdown" patterned paper cut into squares and backed with machine-stitched paper squares for added support. The cover of this mini is made from wood veneer shapes I spray misted and added a red book ring to. Each day I am adding one Instagram pic to the mini. I plan to have family members take a few pics to get them involved too. Such a simple, totally doable, efficient way to document December (daily)in a "very mini" way!

So, that's it for today! I will be back next week with a post on the other mini album I am working on; the Very Merry December Mini-Book, as well as several cards, layouts and other home decor items.

(If you simply can't wait until then to see more October Afternoon scrappy goodness, follow me on Twitter and Instagram (user ID "SuzMannecke -no spaces) for extra sneaks.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Hi all! So happy that the holiday merry-making is in full force not only in our household but elsewhere around the world. I hope you have been finding time to document some of this merry-making, tree-trimming, and other holiday festivities amidst all of the hustle and bustle that the season brings.I, myself, have been a busy lil ole elf, and have managed to produce a creative chaos craft storm in my scrap studio!! Lots of projects in the works, most of them for my guest designing at October Afternoon, but some of them just for the family and friends. Trying to squeeze in a little bit of Project Life too. ;)Today, I am sharing with you a holiday home decor project made with lots of October Afternoon goodies and my Silhouette.It's a mixed media canvas owl. If I haven't mentioned it before, I am a collector/fan of owls. They are just so dang cute...and wise! ;)

This little guy is a mix of wisdom, merry, and "don't mess with me"attitude with his arched "eyebrows" made from a Silhouette leaf pattern design that I altered. I used my favorite textured woodgrain cardstock for the base of his body and patterned papers from the Make It Merry line and one pp from the Holiday Style line. I used the OA snowflake rub-ons for his eyes/pupils and for his tail feathers I resized and grouped together a chevron pattern that I created in my Silhouette.

Super fun to put together and start-to-finish it only took about 2 hours. (The hand embroidery added a bit of time. I decided to machine stitch in white around his face).

I think he will soon be perched in my scrap space or in our basement living room as we have various shades of green and red walls as a backdrop for for him. Appropriate camouflage, yes?

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Hi All! Dropping in to post my design team designs for this month's Little Black Dress Kit! If you thought last month's kit was awesome, this one will not disappoint either!! The design team consensus was that each kit seems to keep outdoing the kit the month before!!

I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here are my designs for this month:

I loved seeing the AC gold polka dot vellum in this kit as well as vintage santa illustrations!

I found several uses for it. On this layout it helps to repeat the idea of the bubble wrap my dear hubby and his brother and cousins were popping in 1970-something! ;)
(Click on any pic to view larger).

I loved the little metallic alphas that come in this kit too! (And in two colors? Yes, please!)

Here's a close up of how they "glisten." ;)

This layout was really fun to create as I loved that the patterned paper and the polka dot tulle mimicked my grandmother's dress and apron so well. :)

Just who is that silly little girl anyway? :P

I love that this kit has feminine and masculine components to it as well as winter and spring! ;) So versatile. Something for everyone!

The Studio Calico sun/starburst mask that comes in this kit? Swooning! I couldn't wait to use it on this layout. I loved using two different colors of mist and wanted to highlight the light beam on the vintage santa illustration by extending it beyond the card and onto the background patterned paper. I broke out my gold DMC thread and hand stitched a few perfectly imperfect stars.

Well, there you have it! My December LBD gallery. As you can see, I was able to create a ton of fun projects and the best part is, I still have a good amount of the kit left to scrap with! I have a feeling this kit won't last long so be sure to head on over to Little Black Dress and orders yours today! While you are at it, check out the fabulous creations of the other design team members!